Sports Medicine Master System

Inside the operating room.

Sheffield stood at Chen Yu’s side, watching the endoscopic screen beside him. Her heart was in her throat as she saw Chen Yu work within the tiny space. He was using a dissecting clamp, its outer diameter a mere 5 millimeters, to meticulously peel back the vascular epithelial mucosa that had grown around the shrapnel. After pulling it away, he continued the dissection. She couldn’t help but remark, "Chen, your hands are incredibly steady."

In her experience, the guys in orthopedics were all rough-and-tumble types who lacked fine motor skills.

After all, they were practically construction workers, the kind of people who’d get up and swing a hammer when the mood struck.

She really hadn’t expected Chen Yu’s hands to be so steady and precise. No wonder he was so good at all sorts of minimally invasive surgeries.

"They’re alright, I guess." Chen Yu wasn’t being overly modest. Performing surgery with the assistance of the Eye of All-Seeing made things far too easy.

The difficulty in minimally invasive surgery often wasn’t a matter of how steady one’s hands were, but rather a lack of a clear field of view.

Sheffield asked again, "Chen, I saw in the news that you performed a heart surgery abroad?"

Seeing Chen Yu nod, Sheffield continued, "Cardiology, and now you’re even doing neurosurgery... Chen, are you planning on becoming a generalist?"

It wasn’t so much that different fields were worlds apart, but that one simply didn’t have the energy. You’d have to learn so many things from scratch.

You can never even finish learning everything in your own specialty.

Chen Yu didn’t say anything, instead carefully using a 5mm curved ultrasonic hemostatic knife to cut and separate the last bit of adherent scar tissue around the shrapnel.

Then, using grasping forceps, he firmly gripped the shrapnel and extracted it along the entry path.

"No bleeding."

Sheffield quickly glanced at the endoscopic screen, let out a low cry of amazement, and immediately started to applaud.

The many nurses in the operating room, however, had seen it all before. They clapped a couple of times out of habit and left it at that.

They had seen too many of Chen Yu’s incredible procedures.

Chen Yu glanced at the piece of shrapnel, which had turned from red to black. Such a tiny thing had tormented Adriano’s father for over a decade.

He dropped it onto the tray beside him. After one final, meticulous scan of the man’s head to ensure the blood vessels were clear and undamaged, Chen Yu stepped aside and said with a smile, "Anna, thank you for your supervision and guidance. Since this was a cooperative surgery, why don’t you handle the closing? It’s been over three hours, my hands are numb."

Sheffield shot Chen Yu a charming look. ’If I do the closing, wouldn’t that just make me his assistant?’

"I didn’t guide you on anything."

Sheffield stepped forward, taking Chen Yu’s place.

Chen Yu had designed the surgical plan. Throughout the entire procedure, she had basically been part of the cheerleading squad, hardly lifting a finger.

"I feel like this eighty thousand US dollars is burning a hole in my pocket."

She hadn’t offered any real opinions, nor had she done much of the work. Making a single trip and earning eighty thousand US dollars really did make Sheffield feel a little embarrassed.

Chen Yu joked, "What’s there to feel bad about? You deserve every penny."

’I did borrow her reputation, after all.’

’Besides, Adriano is footing the bill, and it’s not like I’m earning a cent less than I should.’

Sheffield skillfully closed the incision and began suturing. "Chen, I’m honestly quite envious of you," she said. "I’ve actually had the idea of opening my own clinic, but I don’t know anything about business, so I’ve never dared to turn it into a reality."

Chen Yu was already stretching his body at the side, nodding in deep agreement. "Running a clinic is a lot of trouble, but with your reputation, you could just hire a professional manager and focus on doing surgery."

Sheffield nodded, but after a moment’s thought, she suddenly turned her head and asked, "Chen, could I partner with you?"

Just as Chen Yu said, when running a private clinic, you could hand off the daily administrative work to a professional manager.

That wasn’t the hard part.

The truly difficult part was finding an outstanding partner.

And with Sheffield’s qualifications, there were few people she would consider worthy.

But today, that number had grown by one.

She was amazed by the depth of Chen Yu’s research and understanding of neurosurgery, but what she found most incredible was his ability to think about the surgical plan from a holistic perspective.

It was a unique ability that combined his own spatial awareness with his anatomical knowledge.

"In neurosurgery, our most common patients have various brain tumors. Their structures are complex, and removing them is an extremely difficult and complicated matter. But you have that special ability to design the best possible surgical plans."

"And your understanding of minimally invasive surgery... these are all areas where you surpass me. My experience and your ability would be the perfect combination."

Her eyes were bright, fixed on Chen Yu. She was clearly serious.

"Alright, I’ll think about it."

Chen Yu nodded with a smile.

He was carrying tens of millions in debt, his newly established company needed capital to expand its business, and expanding the clinic’s scope of practice was actually a good option.

Orthopedics was profitable, but neurosurgery was even more so.

When he finished the surgery and left the operating room, the sky was already beginning to brighten with the dawn.

But it wasn’t over yet.

They would have to wait for Almir to wake up before they knew if the surgery was truly a success.

Under the Eye of All-Seeing, Chen Yu hadn’t detected any additional damage.

But the brain was an incredibly precise instrument.

A piece of shrapnel could hide in the brain for over a decade without issue, yet an inadvertent touch during surgery could cause the loss of some brain function.

Fortunately, that didn’t happen.

"Your father is a good man. You should listen to him."

As he was leaving, Chen Yu patted Adriano’s arm and added this final piece of advice with a smile.

He also discussed the follow-up treatment with Sheffield.

She wasn’t just here as a visiting surgeon; she would stay for a few days to watch over Almir until he was past the critical period.

When Chen Yu reached the parking lot, he was just about to get in his car and leave.

In the distance, a bus slowly approached.

With its black and red body, it pulled to a stop right in front of Chen Yu.

The door opened, and Hardaway, wearing sunglasses, appeared before Chen Yu.

Behind him followed Tracy McGrady, dressed in hip-hop attire, peeking out and grinning at him.

"What are you guys doing?"

Hardaway waved Chen Yu over, gesturing for him to get on the bus. "What else could it be, Chen? It’s your bachelor trip! I’ve already planned it all out. We’re driving from Phoenix straight to Las Vegas, and we’re gonna party hard there."

"We’re leaving right now?" Chen Yu’s eyes widened.

’Are you kidding me? I just pulled an all-nighter for a surgery. I’m dead tired.’

’Besides, we never agreed on today.’

"It’s all about the element of surprise! Don’t you get what a surprise is?" Hardaway got off the bus and started dragging Chen Yu aboard.

He was a giant of a man, nearly two meters tall; there was no way Chen Yu could resist him. "At least let me make some arrangements," Chen Yu said hurriedly. "And I need to call Lexi."

Hardaway and Tracy McGrady half-dragged, half-pulled Chen Yu onto the bus. "What’s there to call about?" Hardaway said. "The girls have their fun, and we have our own fun as men."

He gave Chen Yu a lecherous-looking wink and wiggle of his eyebrows.

Beside them, Tracy McGrady chimed in, "Chen, don’t you want to experience what it’s like to suddenly disappear from the world and just completely let loose for a bit?"

"Disappear?"

Chen Yu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’Just as long as you don’t make me *actually* disappear,’ he thought.

"Let’s go, let’s go!"

Seeing that Chen Yu wasn’t objecting, Hardaway took it as a yes and called out to the driver to get moving.

"This is just..."

Watching the bus pull away from the clinic, Chen Yu sighed but still secretly sent a text to Lexi, telling her that Hardaway was dragging him off to a bachelor party.

A moment later, Lexi texted back.

"Have fun."

She even added a smiley face.

A little while later, another text came through, saying that all Chen Yu had to do was show up on time in Santa Barbara on August 4th.

Chen Yu looked up at Hardaway and Tracy McGrady, who were already partying in the main cabin of the bus.

The entire bus had been stripped of its seats and converted into a luxurious party suite. Toward the back, there was even a gambling table.

Chen Yu suddenly felt a little panicked.

He knew how wild these guys could get. It would be a real disaster if they partied too hard and he got lost, or worse, missed his own wedding.

And after they picked up O’Neal, Marion, and the others along the way, Chen Yu’s anxiety grew even stronger.

Thankfully, nothing of the sort happened.

After partying wildly in Las Vegas for two days, the group flew to Los Angeles on the Gulfstream G550 that Jordan had just bought last year.

Before all this, Chen Yu had seriously fantasized about what his wedding would be like.

It was supposed to be sweet and beautiful, the beginning of a new Chapter in his life, blessed by all.

But having actually gone through it, all he felt was exhaustion.

It was as if someone was urging him on from behind, forcing him to gallop at full speed without any time to stop, think, or enjoy the scenery along the way.

It was only when the two of them arrived in Hawaii, settled into their seaside villa, and looked out at the ocean that he finally had the energy to recall the highlights of the wedding.

There was Baggio, far away in Italy, who had transformed into a farm owner. At the reception, he’d stood with a wine glass, recounting little stories about his friendship with Chen Yu, until at the end, he couldn’t hold back his tears and broke down sobbing.

There was Hardaway, the last to leave after the wedding, who gave Chen Yu a meaningful hug and wouldn’t let go for a long time.

There was the President, who remained incognito the whole time but was still trying hard to make his presence known.

There was the reporter who risked his life to paraglide directly onto the grounds of Dream Island Manor to film the wedding, only to be pinned to the ground by a group of Special Service Bureau agents upon landing, his face a mask of bewilderment.

And of course, there was the moment under the stars, amidst an intoxicating song, when Chen Yu held Lexi in a private dance, becoming everything in each other’s eyes.

And of course, there was the stunning live performance from Michael Jackson, his first in several years.

A rendition of "You Are Not Alone" echoed under the starry sky, like the whisper of an elf.

"Darling."

As his mind wandered, Lexi quietly approached and sat in his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and turned her head to look out at the distant sea.

A gentle sea breeze blew, accompanied by rippling waves, as the morning sun struggled to leap above the horizon.

"This is so nice."

Lexi couldn’t help but tighten her embrace, hugging Chen Yu close, her face filled with bliss.

The morning sun cast a hazy golden glow upon her face.

"Yeah, it is."

Chen Yu nodded lightly. Without complex work and countless surgeries waiting for him, this quiet solitude could only be described as pure bliss.

But this wonderful peace only lasted for half a month.

One day, Manchester United’s Ferguson contacted Chen Yu to refer a patient.

A six-time world champion, the world’s top racing driver, a member of the Divine Race of Michael, Michael Schumacher.